From 1st December Emirates is to launch the shortest regular A380 route in the world. Taking off from Dubai, the Emirates airline will fly from Doha to Qatar in its mega-jet. Covering a distance of just 235 miles (379 km) above the Persian Gulf, the flight will last 1 hour and 20 minutes.

The Emirates’ A380 is to fly a return journey between the two cities. Meanwhile, the company’s eight other daily flights between Dubai and Doha are to continue operating in a Boeing 777.

With its super jumbo jet, the company can offer 150 more seats than with its Boeing. This is a response to increasingly strong demand. In the first ten months of the year, Emirates transported over 700,000 passengers on this route.

It remains to be seen whether the use of an A380 (capable of flying nearly 10,000 miles) on such a short journey makes economic sense, notably in terms of maintenance costs.